He was taken in the first time he vomited, and the cPL levels did not indicate pancreatitis, and he was at the vet for a whole day on IV. That was the 27th of October and he went back on famotidine, antibiotic, metronidazole, and 5 mg of Pred twice a day. He had been doing great before that, gained muscle mass back, weight and no other issue. He seems to have sensitized to the Pred, even on small dosage, and there are some side effects that worry me. His vet is talking to a specialist that might want to put him on Cylosporine, to avoid the side effect of the Pred, so I am waiting on a decision. Any direct experience?

I am using Atopica for allergies, but not for IBD. Just a heads up, www.omahavaccine.com has the cheapest cycosplorine I've ever been able to find. You also have the option to get the generic.

So far, my experience with side effects with cyclosplorine have been fairly minimal. Cherry tends to get lumps and bumps from it, they've all been diagnosed as benign hemangiomas. Gotten 4 removed so far. :/ I'm told it happens when dogs are on it, because it does lower their immune system so much.

Good luck!!! I definitely prefer cyclosplorine to Prednisone. When she is itchier than normal, we use Temeril P. Not sure if that would give you the same effects as Pred on IBD, but it has a lot less risk, and way less side effects associated with it.

Thank you very much for the feed back, Cherry.I told the vet tech to go ahead and order the cyclosporine yesterday, she contacted a compound pharmacy that should call me, hopefully today, but I'll keep your suggestion in mind as well. I am still waiting to hear from another specialist in LA, for a second opinion (well, a forth one at this point!) but since Tux will have these episodes for the rest of his life I want to give it a try , and see if makes things easier for him.

Fran also had numerous lumps/bumps/fatty tumors - all removed, all benign. (with the exception of the last which was diagnosed as hermangiosarcoma - when she was 12+; it was removed and she lived until she was 13+ when she developed a non-operable tumor in her heart; I'm not really associating that with the cyclosporine though due to her age...).

Other than the fatty tumors, we did not observe any pronounced side effects.

Also don't know if it makes any sort of difference with cost; but we got our meds from the "people" pharmacy; we just got a prescription from the vet.

Thank you, Jazzy. I am mainly looking at side effects experiences, so your feed back is appreciated. Cost is often an issue when having multiple dogs, but whatever can help my boy is welcomed and dealt with.Thanks again.

Red wrote:Thank you, Jazzy. I am mainly looking at side effects experiences, so your feed back is appreciated. Cost is often an issue when having multiple dogs, but whatever can help my boy is welcomed and dealt with.Thanks again.

I appreciate and share your sentiment.

I thought it was funny one time when I went to the pharmacy to pick up Fran's monthly prescription and the pharmacist felt so bad about charging me $250 she had to take me aside and whisper about insurance eligibility...then I had to tell her it was for the dog and my insurance company was not that enlightened.

Cyclosporine is less effective for IBD, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I would ask about Budesonide instead, but if thats also been tried, then cyclosporine might be an option. I've also seen azathioprine used for IBD but I've never not had any experience with it myself.

Beware the generic and compounded cyclosporine. The drug has to be in micro emulsion form to be absorbed well, so other forms of cyclosporine require completely different dosing and may not be effective. Medicine that doesn't work at all is a true waste of money even if the name-brand version is expensive.

Misskiwi67 wrote:Beware the generic and compounded cyclosporine. The drug has to be in micro emulsion form to be absorbed well, so other forms of cyclosporine require completely different dosing and may not be effective.

Tux's regular vet is not totally opposed to the Budenoside, as a matter of fact we were cosidering it back in May, but he is talking to two specialists in LA now, that both seem to prefer the cyclosporine, based on Tux's history and the side effects he has experienced. They are still discussing it though, should hear something back on Monday or Tuesday.I have him now at one single dose of Pred, in the AM (5 mg.), and see if we can keep it that way til he is better.His stools are still on the softer side and he has a hard time putting on weight, even with 4 to 5 meals a day.

I started him on the Honest Kitchen Preference today, so that I can add fresh meat and fish and don't worry about balancing meals.He has been on a good kibble, Horizon Amicus, since he got sick the first time, alternated with home cooked meals, but I want to see if eliminating kibble all along makes it easier on his digestive system.

Thanks again, Jazzy. The compounding pharmacy my vet clinic is familiar with (they find the company reliable and never had issues), was suggested because of the dosage they are thinking to start Tux on. Atopica, which is what I would naturally think about when talking cyclosporine for dogs, is not available in that dosage and I don't want to mess with pills cutting them up. It'd be the same with the Sandimmune brand. Tux's vet is supposed to talk to both specialists again today, so I hope I can figure out what we are going to do soon. He pooped twice today and it was nice! Excuse the excitement about the poop but when you have sick dogs and you look at poop a lot....yeah, you get very happy about changes.

Tux has been on Budesonide for a while now, and he has not gained a thing.I asked for an EPI test (Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency) last week, which was negative. His ACTH test done on Monday resulted in little if no cortisol produced.On top of IBD he has Atypical Addison's and tomorrow his adrenal glands are going to be looked at, with another ultrasound. Even with Atypical Addison's some things are off.